The Coqui in Puerto Rico

Common Name: Coqui

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Eletherodactylidae
Genus: Eletherodactylus
Species: Eletherodactylus Coqui

      When I went to Puerto Rico a few years ago, each night I could hear the coqui tree frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, singing outside of our hotel. I had never heard any sound like it, the word ko-kee would repeatedly come from the trees as the sun went down until dawn. We went to visit the El Yunque rainforest and the sounds were heard again, the island was covered with them. I had thought at first that both the male and female made these sounds since there was so much noise. I had come to find out that it is the male that “sings” as a mating call to the female. I was finally able to find one and was surprised by how small the coqui was.

      The coqui, Eleutherodactylus coqui, range from 33mm to 57mm in length. The coqui is usually green, yellow or brown in color. Commonly, the coqui tree frog can be found in the Caribbean and in North America, specifically Hawaii. They are not adapted to swim and have sticky developed pads at the end of their toes to stick to surfaces as most true tree frogs. After doing some research on these creatures, what I found the most interesting about them is their development. The development of the coqui differs from other frogs. This specific species utilizes internal fertilization whereas they do not have the “tadpole” stage and just go into direct development. They lay their eggs on land where the “tadpole” stage would occur inside of the egg and their adult features form directly. The males guard the eggs to keep them from drying out. Development can occur within 17 to 26 days as they lay several eggs at a time the population of coqui grows rapidly. Although, some people think of these creatures as a disturbance, I wouldn’t mind hearing the sounds of the coqui each night.